Nickel Plated by Aric Davis

Author:Aric Davis [Davis, Aric]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Social Issues, General, Runaways, Sexual Abuse
ISBN: 9781935597322
Google: u3GjcQAACAAJ
Amazon: 1935597329
Publisher: AmazonEncore
Published: 2010-01-01T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

I was happy to see the pipe bomb still sitting on the table. I suppose the lack of police cruisers around the house should have tipped me off first. I checked the clock, went back outside to the garage. Started putting my kit together.

Cordless drill, full charge, Sawzall, full battery there, too. A length of rope, maybe twenty feet. Gorilla glue. Air horn. One-inch drill bit. A pair of night vision goggles with a 1×3 magnification reticule set in the lenses. A little LED flashlight. A rubber mallet and a wooden dowel sawn off to work as a punch. Matches already in my pocket. A wish that Arrow would call. Went back in the house, lay down on the couch. Thought better of it and went to bed. Set the alarm for two.

I woke confused, the alarm screaming at me. I remembered Arrow and Shelby and shut off the alarm. Went to the bathroom, painted my face with makeup, shades of black, gray, and brown. I looked at myself. I was a demon. Got dressed in all black, non-reflective clothing. Grabbed the bag with all of my stuff and threw it over my shoulders. Got the pipe bomb last and strapped it to my thigh with tape. If it went off, I wanted it to kill me, not leave me a cripple. I took a deep breath and rode my bike to Four Oaks; the only light was the moon. I rode past the gas station. It was closed, so no worries about being seen. I rolled into Arrow’s neighborhood and tucked the bike behind the first truly dark tree that I saw. When I left it, I made sure to stay close to houses so I could bolt if I needed to. Nice night, if you weren’t a runaway with ten ounces of gunpowder strapped to your leg.

What I needed, besides a telephone pole, was a nearby sewer grate and a good spot to sit and hide. I needed to watch, see who showed up besides police and fire trucks. I had a vibe that tonight I might get to see the man who took Shelby. I checked my pager, more out of habit than anything else. Still nothing from Arrow. I veered off of my path, stopped looking for what I needed, and went to her house. Her light was on, but I still felt silly throwing pebbles at her window, like I was some hapless kid in an eighties sitcom. After a couple of stones, her window opened. She popped out.

“Nickel?”

“Who else?”

“I can’t see you.”

I flicked the flashlight on and off twice.

“You’re all black.”

“I’m working.”

“Shelby?”

“Yeah. Want to come?”

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing I need help with.”

Just blowing up your neighborhood.

“No thanks then—I need to study and get some sleep. I was at the jail trying to see Dad pretty much all day. I got like fifteen minutes after he was done talking to Mom and his lawyer. He’s a wreck, but I believe that he didn’t hurt Shelby.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.